Dear My Worthy Opponent,

To say that children playing sports is a bad idea due to bad long term effects on your body might sound absurd, and unrealistic but in fact that is just my point. Playing sports is a part of many kids and teens lives as they grow up. It is a way for them to socialize, make new friends and be a part of a team. It is something for little kids, even older kids that are in high school to look forward to at the end of the day after school. Playing sports in some peoples opinion may be healthy for these kids, but this is where I am here to tell you that that is not always necessarily true. The injuries that these children, preteens, and teenagers face can be quite serious, and in fact life changing in the long term. It is said that our body heals fast when we are young and though this may be true, our bodies can’t stay young forever and eventually things that we did when we were younger will catch up to us. The consequences your body will have to endure as you grow old are not worth all those years of injuries and beatings to your body.

Although there are upsides to participating in sports and other physical after school activities, the problems from injuries could offset the upsides dramatically. According to “Long-term health outcomes of youth sports injuries,” from “BMJ Journals,” Dr. N Maffulli says “ Injuries can counter the beneficial effects of sports participation at a young age if a child or adolescent is unable to continue to participate because of residual effects of injury.” If you are unable to participate, or even unable to participate 100% of your ability then what is the point of playing sports. If these injuries you are facing limit you from playing then it is not worth continuing to suffer from these injuries as you play. Maybe it is time for you to hang the cleats up and end it. 

Along with the injuries themselves, and the damage that comes at the times of the injuries, growth complications might also arise afterward. Many sports enthusiasts say that sports can lead your body to get stronger and grow. They can also lead to the very opposite. Researchers now have been seeing that young children around the ages of 9 are facing growth disturbances from some of these injuries. Nicola Mafulli from the PSM Journal says in “Sports Injuries in Young Athletes: Long-Term Outcome and Prevention Strategies,” that “disturbed physeal growth as a result of injury can result in length discrepancy, angular deformity, or altered joint mechanics, and may cause significant long-term disability.” These injuries and deformities can alter lives drastically, it can lead to irregular functions of different limbs, muscles, and joints. This can leave you unable to take care of yourself in the future, unable to work, and unable to take care of your family like someone without these problems. It is sad and unfortunate that these long lasting problems can be caused by something we love to do so much but it is not worth the risk. These injuries can also get worse as you get older, they can worsen and leave you to be in constant pain every day.

People may also think that it is uncommon for children to get injured when it comes to playing sports, and that you must be accident prone inorder to face injuries, when in fact that is not true. If you are playing any sport it is a fact that you are taking the risk of getting injured, Whether it comes to baseball, getting hit with the ball, gymnastics, falling off the balance beam, or track, getting stress fractures in your shins which can cause doctors to put metal rods in your legs. All of these things are not uncommon anf happen everyday. In “Apophyseal injuries in children’s and youth sports,” from the “British Medical Bulletin,” Umile Giuseppe Longo says “Up to 40% of all injuries in adolescents happen while practicing sports. These injuries are difficult to avoid and are unique to the pre-pubescent-adolescent population because the apophyses are secondary growth centres that open up at about Age 9 and are not fully closed until upwards of Age 22.”  40% of injuries that happen to adolescents happen while practicing sports. That is almost 50% of injuries that children face, happening while in sports. That is a lot considering that that is only adolescents. Think about how many more occur to those that are older, it could be more than half of the population being observed.

Youth sports, although it has its upsides for the children playing it, can be very dangerous, and lead to bad health later in life. These children that are playing it are prone to injuries, especially those who play many sports, and compete at a higher level. Almost half of the adolescents playing sports face injuries and some of those injuries can be serious and life altering. That means they can end up not even being able to play sports in the future because of the severity of the injury. In the article “Preventing sports injuries: opportunities for intervention in youth athletics,” from “Science Direct,” Nancy L. Weaver says “Estimates are that one-third of high school athletes will sustain an injury during a sports season serious enough to result in time lost from participation.” It is unfortunate that these injuries can affect the kids enough to have to quit playing the sport that they love, but if they don’t their future can be affected even more. I know that the love for playing sports is intense because I once had it when I was able to play sports, but unfortunately I had to quit due to a lifetime lasting injury because I didn’t quit before it got bad enough. But even though the love is there, sometimes things have to come to an end for the goodness, and health of your future.

References

Maffulli, N., Longo, G., & Denaro, V. (2010, January 1).Long-term health outcomes of youth sports injuries. Retrieved April 14, 2020

Mafulli, N. (2015, March 13).Sports Injuries in Young Athletes: Long-Term Outcome and Prevention Strategies. Retrieved April 14, 2020

Seefeldt, & Vern. (1992, November 30).Overview of Youth Sports Programs in the United States. Retrieved April 14, 2020 

Umile Giuseppe Longo , Mauro Ciuffreda, Joel Locher, Nicola Maffulli, and Vincenzo Denaro (2016).Apophyseal injuries in children’s and youth sports.Retrieved April 14, 2020

Weaver, N. L., Marshall, S. W., & Miller, M. D. (2001, November 30). Preventing sports injuries: opportunities for intervention in youth athletics. Retrieved April 14, 2020